This application claims priority to an application entitled xe2x80x9cMethod for Applying Different Charge Rates and Indicating Location of Mobile Station in Cellular Mobile Telecommunication Systemxe2x80x9d filed in the Korean Industrial Property Office on Mar. 22, 1999 and assigned Serial No. 99-9589.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a cellular mobile telecommunication system, and in particular, to a method for setting a main service zone to apply different charge rates to a mobile station during a call connection, and a method for providing notice indicating the zone where the mobile station is presently located.
2. Description of the Related Art
A cellular mobile telecommunication system divides the whole service area into a plurality of base station areas in order to provide communication service. To increase the service capacity, each base station is further divided into a plurality of small service zones known as xe2x80x9ccells.xe2x80x9d The base stations are controlled by a mobile switching center (MSC) on a centralization basis so that a mobile station can maintain a call while roaming from one cell to another.
FIG. 1 shows a network structure of a general cellular mobile telecommunication system. As illustrated, a base station (BS) 20 provides mobile telecommunication service to a subscriber through a mobile station (MS) 10. A base station controller (BSC) 30 is coupled to manage the base station 20. A mobile switching center (MSC) 40 is coupled to control the base station controller (BSC) 30 and connected to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 50 or to another base station.
The mobile switching center (MSC) 40 is provided with information about the additional service and charging information of a mobile station in the visitor location register (VLR) 60 and the home location register (HLR) 70. For the mobile telecommunication service provider, the telephone charge is one of the most important factors considered in order to attract more subscribers. As the cost of the mobile service calls is generally higher than wired service calls, some mobile service providers began to provide a competitive rate, especially in local service, in an attempt to attract more mobile subscribers.
To this end, a new billing policy is being implemented by the existing mobile telecommunication provider to charge their customers at a lower rate or at a rate equal to or slightly higher than the PSTN service in a given service zone, so that mobile service providers can compete with their counterpart, the wired service provider. That is, in an area classified as the home zone, which refers to the main service zone of the mobile station, a lower charge is applied to the mobile station but a higher charge is applied to non-home zones.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a method for generating a home-zone list of the mobile stations to apply different charge rates according to the service zone where the mobile station is located during a call.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for indicating the location of the service zone to the mobile station to inform whether the mobile station is located within the home-zone service.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for applying a different charge rate to a subscriber in a cellular mobile telecommunication system. The method comprising the steps of: generating, in a home location register (HLR), a home-zone list including location information for the home zone of a mobile station; sending the home-zone list in the home location register (HLR) to a visitor location register (VLR) coupled to a mobile switching center (MSC) which covers the service zone of the mobile station; storing the home zone list from the home location register (HLR) in the visitor location register (VLR); and, applying, by the mobile switching center, a different charge rate to a call performed in the home zone and a call performed in the non-home zone based on the home-zone list stored in the visitor location register (VLR).
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for indicating the location of a mobile station in a cellular mobile telecommunication system. The method comprising the steps of: sending, by a mobile station, a location registration request to the visitor location register (VLR) of a mobile switching center (MSC) through a base station servicing the area where the mobile station is located via a base station controller (BSC); sending, by the visitor location register (VLR), the location registration request of the mobile station to a home location register (HLR); receiving, by the visitor location register (VLR), subscriber information included in the home-zone list from the home location register (HLR), wherein the home-zone list includes the location information of the home zone of the mobile station; storing the subscriber information of the mobile station in the visitor location register (VLR) and informing the mobile station of the acceptance of the location registration; determining whether the mobile station moves between the home zone and a non-home zone based on the home-zone list in the visitor location register (VLR); requesting, by the visitor location register (VLR), the mobile station to indicate its present location if the mobile station has moved between the home zone and the non-home zone; and, indicating, by the mobile station, the present location at the request of the visitor location register (VLR).
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for indicating the location of a mobile station in a cellular mobile telecommunication system. The method comprising the steps of: sending, by a mobile station, a call origination request to a mobile switching center (MSC) through a base station serving the area where the mobile station is located via a base station controller (BSC); upon receipt of the call origination request, sending, by the mobile switching center, a home-zone list including the location information for the home zone to the base station controller (BSC), wherein the home-zone list indicates the main service zone of the mobile station; searching, by the base station controller (BSC), the home-zone list to determine whether the mobile station is located in the home zone or a non-home zone and requesting the mobile station to display the present location; and, displaying, by the mobile station, the present location at the request of the base station controller (BSC).
According to further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for indicating the location of a mobile station in a cellular mobile telecommunication system. The method comprising the steps of: receiving, by a mobile switching center, a request for call termination to a mobile station; upon receipt of the call termination request, paging, by the mobile switching center, the mobile station through a base station and a base station controller (BSC); receiving, by the mobile switching center, a paging response from the mobile station through the base station controller (BSC) and the base station; upon receipt of the paging response, sending, by the mobile switching center, a home-zone list of the mobile station to the base station controller (BSC), wherein the home-zone list includes location information for the home zone of mobile station; searching, by the base station controller (BSC), the home-zone list to determine whether the mobile station is located in the home zone or a non-home zone and requesting the mobile station to indicate the present location; and, indicating, by the mobile station, the present location at the request of the base station controller (BSC).
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for indicating a location of a mobile station in a cellular mobile telecommunication system. The method comprising the steps of: sending, by a mobile station in service, its present location information to a base station controller (BSC) to which a traffic channel is presently connected; searching, by the base station controller (BSC), a home-zone list of the mobile station to determine whether the mobile station has moved between a home zone and a non-home zone, wherein the home-zone list includes the location information of the home zone for the mobile station; requesting, by the base station controller (BSC), the mobile station to display its present location if the mobile station has moved between the home zone and the non-home zone; and, displaying, by the mobile station, the present location at the request of the base station controller (BSC).